Legacy
by Halfcarrot
Summary: WARNING: Contains spoilers for The Novice and The High Lord, so read them first!  SPOILER: What would happen if Akkarin hadn't escaped Sachaka?  Rated T because I have no idea what to rate it.
1. Proposal

Chapter 1: Proposal

_Disclaimer: (I'm meant to write this, yes? Please forgive me if I get it wrong!) Yes, sadly, I do not own the Black Magician Trilogy, Trudi Canavan does (lucky her!). I am not making any profit from this._

_Okay, this idea is probably very common, but I want to explore it anyway. I'm not sure where the plot is going, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! This is not a random comedy like my first fanfic (see? I can be serious too!). Please review with constructive criticism!_

**Sonea:**

Sonea was holding Dorrien's hand. After she had won the fight against Regin in the Arena, he had announced that he loved her. And now that she had finally graduated as a healer, he had told her he had a surprise for her. Being wanted felt wonderful.

Rain was spattering down the sides of the University. They shielded, and then warmed the air inside the shield. Sonea smiled. Sometimes magic could be very useful.

A black-cloaked figure was walking towards them from the High Lord's Residence. As he neared them, Sonea inclined her head. "High Lord Balkan," she murmured. Dorrien echoed her greeting.

The pair walked through the gardens for a few minutes. _It's very peaceful_, thought Sonea. She was right. Even though magicians could shield, they preferred to stay indoors in such weather, and the novices had an exam tomorrow, so most of them were studying.

Dorrien squeezed her hand. "Sonea," he started, his cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment, "I do love you, you know."

"I know," she assured him, wondering where this conversation was going.

"Sonea, will you marry me?" he asked abruptly.

Sonea stopped walking. _Well, this _is_ a surprise_, she thought. _How can I refuse without hurting his feelings?_ It wasn't that she didn't love him, but she had only just graduated, and didn't want to be tied down by marriage when she was finally free to do what she wanted.

"Not _now_, Dorrien."

He looked crestfallen.

Sonea sighed patiently. "I do love you," she told him, "But I'm not ready for this yet. One of us might change our minds, and by then it will be too late."

"I'll never change my mind over you!" Dorrien protested.

"But I might change my mind about you," Sonea pointed out, and then continued quickly to avoid an awkward pause. "Rothen's expecting me for dinner. I'll see you later."

She leaned forward to lightly kiss him on the cheek, and then disappeared into the rain.

Tania opened the door.

"Sonea! You're late!" she scolded lightly.

Sonea blushed and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry!" she said, "Dorrien kept me." Her cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red.

Rothen laughed. He had been delighted when his son and former novice had declared that they loved each other.

"Come and join me!" he called, "The food's getting cold!"

They sat down and ate. After a while, they started a conversation that led to a discussion about Sonea's beginnings in the Guild.

"Why didn't you ask to have your powers blocked so that you could leave?" Rothen asked curiously, "Of course, I'm very glad that you didn't, but I _do_ want to know why."

"Numerous reasons," replied Sonea, her mouth full. She swallowed, and then continued. "When you took me to see the healers' quarters for the first time, something sparked inside me. I didn't know it at the time, but later on I realised that I was meant to be a healer. Also, when Dannyl found Cery, I was so happy that Fergun was found out. When he was threatening me, and asking me to break my vow and leave the Guild, at first I felt that it wasn't very different from my original plans, but later I felt as if I was being forced to do something I didn't want to do. And then when the trouble with Regin boiled down, I felt proud to be a magician. Or a novice, I suppose.

"I plan to start some free hospices in the city with Dorrien's help, and hopefully I'll persuade the High Lord to start recruiting novices from poorer areas in the city. I'd like to explore the world as well. Maybe my next step will be Elyne," she continued thoughtfully.

Rothen nodded. "Do you think you'll ever reach an important position in the Guild?"

Sonea laughed. "Oh my, no, mister Head of Alchemy Studies. I'm content to be what I am."

"And what's that?"

"An over ambitious dwell healer with big ideas and an even bigger head!" This time, they both laughed.

"I should be going soon," said Sonea regretfully. She hugged Rothen, said goodbye to Tania, opened the door with magic and walked outside, left alone to ponder about Dorrien's proposal.

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	2. The Spring

Chapter 2: The Spring

_Yay! I finally thought of something original! I just couldn't be bothered to check the other 200 odd BMT fics, and guessed that this idea was probably very common._

_ I think I will include Akkarin, but I don't think that he and Sonea will ever meet. (But I'm not sure about this yet)._

**Lorlen:**

Lorlen awoke with a start and stared at the sea of papers before him. Had he fallen asleep? He must have been so tired that he had forgotten to heal away his tiredness. He yawned. Akkarin would have been amused. He was always telling him to take a break… Lorlen shook himself awake. Akkarin wasn't here. He hadn't been here for a very long time. Lorlen found himself thinking, and not for the first time, about what it was that was so important to his friend that he hadn't bothered to keep in contact. At the beginning of his quest for knowledge they had sent each other weekly letters. Lorlen had even made excuses to avoid important work to find time to read and write them. He sighed. Speculating was high on the list of things he should certainly not be doing. As was falling asleep whilst working.

To give him something to do, other than staring at the never-ending pile of paper in despair, Lorlen rose and looked out of the window. The sun had just risen above the Guild, leaving the sky scattered with rose-petal-pink hued clouds. He had remembered dozing off around midnight, and groaned. Today he would be cooped inside his office; working to make up for the time wasted last night.

But the Guild wouldn't begin to rise for about an hour, and Lorlen felt that maybe he _did_ need a break. He wanted to go somewhere private. The roof, maybe. Lorlen headed towards the stairs and began to climb, when he realised that the roof wasn't his only sanctuary. There was another place, somewhere he hadn't been to in years. The spring. He had only ever been there with Akkarin, and hadn't felt the need to for years, but today he felt an unnamed force that seemed to be pulling him towards it.

…

Lorlen sat down on a stone. The spring bubbled in front of him. He fiddled with the board game on his lap, and sighed. He couldn't believe that he been so irresponsible as a novice. Avoiding classes to waste time with his friend by the spring. It was quite amazing that he had earned one of the highest positions in the Guild. _It was Akkarin's fault_, a small part of his mind voiced its opinion. _He was the one who led you astray._ Then Lorlen felt ashamed for thinking such things. He had _willingly_ wasted hours of studying time to have fun with his friend.

Sometimes, Lorlen despaired over his life. His novice days had been filled with fun, and, as if to balance it out, his magician days were filled with nothing but work. As Administrator, he was given power and recognition. But was it worth it?

The playing piece Lorlen had been holding splintered under his fingers. Sighing, he reassembled it with magic.

While he worked, he thought. Maybe he should give up his job. But then what? He would have so much time. What would he do with it? _Besides, even if it does exhaust me, I'm good at it. And it gives me something to do. I _enjoy_ my job!_ Lorlen sighed. He had always been terrible at lying, even to himself. He _hated_ being tired; all of his energy was constantly being leeched from him, even when he healed it away. Signing formal documents grew tedious after a while. But whilst he did enjoy his power over the Guild, sometimes he felt that something was amiss…

What would Akkarin say if he was here now? _He'd tell me to use my influence to get someone else to do my work so that I could drink wine and relax, and still get the credit._ Lorlen smiled. Akkarin had always been a troublemaker.

…

The Guild still seemed to be asleep when Lorlen made his way towards it's grounds, although the sun was peeping through the trees' leafy boughs. Realisation hit Lorlen with a start as he remembered that today was Free Day.

_Hmm… maybe I'll head into the city. I can always catch up on work later… And it's high time that I bought Osen something. He is _very_ helpful, after all. He works too hard._

A smile on his face, Lorlen returned to his chambers to claim his wallet.

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	3. Packing

Chapter 3: Packing

_Okay, Marika is the other healer in Dorrien's village. She is a plot device, and probably won't be mentioned again. I only created her so that Dorrien would have an excuse for not being at his village all the time._

_ This is kind of a filler chapter, as it isn't as long as the others and doesn't have much of a story line._

_And does anyone want a Dannyl chapter? I don't have much time to fit this in the story now that the plot is coming together, so I will only include him if five people review and say so before I post the next chapter. (This is no guarantee that there will be a Dannyl chap, but I can try!) _

**Sonea:**

_So much to bring, and so little space!_ Sonea's panicked thoughts danced around in her head. Earlier, Administrator Lorlen had agreed to let her leave for Elyne to learn more about healing magic, although he had said that it was advisable that she remain for a few weeks before leaving, as she had only just graduated.

There were just a few days to go before it was time for the voyage. _Will I really need a compass? But there's no point in having a compass without a map. Do I really need a map? But what if I get lost? That would be _disastrous_. But how can I possibly get lost if I have a guide? But what if my guide is actually a demented evil magician who wants to kill me? _Why_ would the Guild send me a guide who was actually a demented evil magician who wanted to kill me?_

Sonea frowned. Packing was doing her head in. She had never needed to travel far when she had lived in the slums, and she had no idea what she would need.

Then she heard a familiar attack of knocks on the entranceway and sighed heavily. Rothen would knock politely three times on the door; her servant Itisha rapped the door lightly five times with practised fingers; and Dorrien pelted his fists against her door as if there was no tomorrow. Sonea had been avoiding Dorrien ever since he had proposed to her. It wasn't that she didn't like him– she just felt very confused, and she didn't know how to tell him that. Also, Sonea knew that Dorrien was bound to want to come with her on her voyage, and she wasn't sure why, but she didn't feel comfortable about that. _It's like he's becoming a stranger._

"Come in," she answered, reluctantly. Dorrien flew into the room and immediately started firing questions at her. "Why didn't you tell me you were going? Don't you like me anymore? I only found out yesterday night, from straining my ears at the Night Room for gossip about you. Don't look at me like that! You've been avoiding me– it's the only way to find out anything about you now. When are we leaving? You haven't left me anytime to pack, Sonea! And I'll have to re-arrange everything– Marika needs to know that I won't be returning for at least six months–"

"We? There is no _we_ about this, Dorrien. I am going by myself."

"Nonsense! You don't know anything about Elyne!"

"You don't either! And actually, I've spent the last few weeks scouring every single book that the library had to offer about its culture! So you can talk!"

Dorrien looked hurt. "You really don't like me, do you?"

"Dorrien, it's not about that. And I do like you, really. I just don't want to marry you quite so soon!"

"You don't have to! Just let me come!"

He made puppy eyes at her, and she felt her resolve waver. "Fine!" she snapped. We're leaving in three days. _You_ are going to be the one who informs Administrator Lorlen that you are coming, and you had better make sure that you don't make me regret this!"

Dorrien grinned triumphantly, and sped out of her rooms, slamming the door behind him. Sonea groaned. How complicated could things get?

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	4. Slave

Chapter 4: Slave

_Aaahh! I HATE this chapter! HATE it! *Runs around in circles screaming* I don't know why I posted it, I hate it! (Okay, you probably get the message.) I was very tempted not to post it, actually. But I did. Lucky you! (Or unlucky you. All down to personal opinion!) Okay, I'll stop ranting now, promise!_

_ Yeah, I know that it probably doesn't make much sense, cos I keep correcting loopholes in the plot. Just try to ignore them, just in case I miss some!_

_ And originally, there was only one really long Akkarin chapter, and then I split into two really short Akkarin chapters._

_ (Oh yeah, you know the slave that Akkarin fell in love with? I couldn't find her name anywhere, so I named her: Isiben! (With help from my friend, BookBiscuit. (Who is on my favourite authors page, although she hasn't written anything yet) Thanks a lot, if you're reading this!)) _

**Akkarin:**

Akkarin was worried. Dakova and the others had met up a few weeks ago, and they had been travelling as a group since. Dakova had presented him as 'my little Guild magician' in sneering tones, and apart from the daily draining of power and simple fetching and carrying orders, had ignored him. Akkarin usually had to stand by his master at all times in order to serve him. Something was definitely wrong…

And they were constantly on the move. Of course, the Ichani usually roamed the land for food and other bounty, but this was different. There was a purpose to this journey, Akkarin could sense that. A purpose fuelled by hatred. He and Takan had exchanged glances a few times, and from his expression Akkarin knew that Takan understood what was happening. And he didn't like it.

"Akkarin!" a sharp voice cut through his thoughts like a knife. "Wine!" Observing his master with unconcealed loathing, Akkarin headed to a crate of wine bottles by the tents. He picked one up by its slender glass neck, and held it for a moment. Time seemed to stretch, a moment lasting an eternity. He knew what was going to happen a moment before the wine bottle slipped from his fingers, yet he made no movement to stop it. CRASH! Wine spilt like blood onto the parched land. _Like blood_… the beginnings of a plan planted themselves in Akkarin's mind, but he ignored them. Temporarily.

"You idiot!" Dakova's voice was beyond angry. He couldn't let a slave embarrass him in front of guests. Isiben stared at Akkarin in horror, her worried eyes framed by thick dark lashes. But he didn't notice.

Bending over the remains of the bottle, Akkarin slipped the largest shard into his sleeve, trying not to cut himself on its sharp edges. Then he cleared away the rest.

"I hope you'll excuse me. My slave and I need to have a little talk," Dakova mocked as he moved out of eyeshot and earshot of his company, whilst they laughed. Stomach heavy with apprehension, Akkarin followed him.

Dakova's eyes glittered with hatred. "How dare you embarrass me in front of all those people?" he hissed. Akkarin tensed, waiting for the blow to come, and looked up when nothing happened. Dakova's eyes were shining cruelly– Akkarin had the feeling that his punishment was just about to be delivered.

"You do know why we're headed to the pass, don't you?" he asked, the concern in his voice almost as fake as his smile.

Akkarin felt the blood drain from his face. Suddenly, everything made sense, and he couldn't believe what an idiot he had been.

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	5. Light

Chapter 5: Light

_Okay, I know that I updated _very_ quickly, but that's only because I wrote the two Akkarin chapters a while ago and was too cowardly to post them :P. Thank you for all the lovely reviews! Okay, not much more too say… Oh yeah! This is the penultimate chapter! And prepare yourselves, because the Epilogue I have planned is extremely weird…_

**Akkarin:**

"Akkarin, what are you talking about? You can't!"

"I can and I will! You can't tell me what I can't do!" he whispered furiously.

"Akkarin, it's madness! You can't expect to wipe out an army, albeit a small one, of Ichani like _that_!"

"It doesn't matter if it doesn't work, but you are going to be far away whatever happens." Isiben smiled and shook her head sadly.

"No," she whispered firmly.

"You don't understand," he said, his voice rising slightly. "When a magician dies, their power is released, and it destroys everything nearby!"

Isiben gestured for him to lower his voice. "I thought you could shield?"

Akkarin sighed, and ran a finger through his hair. "Yes, but if I shield beforehand, Dakova will know that something's wrong. If he dies, then I die with him."

"Then let me die with you too."

"You could have a life! You don't have to do this!"

"You don't have to either!" She looked around, and then lowered her voice. "Akkarin, I don't know about you, but there is no life for me apart from this. You didn't grow up in the Sachakan slave society, so I don't expect you to understand."

Akkarin frowned.

"There's nothing you can do to stop me from staying here," she told him gently.

…

It was time. The perfect opportunity. Dakova had summoned Akkarin to the circle for some reason; most probably to let them read his mind. He couldn't afford for that to happen. If Dakova died, then the others wouldn't have time to shield before it was too late. Hopefully.

There was just one flaw to his plan. He would have to depend on the fact that Dakova would feel secure enough to not waste energy shielding.

"So, you know what we want. I'm sure that _Akkarin_," Dakova sneered, "Will be more than willing to help you."

Now or never. Yet for some reason, Akkarin hesitated. _It's unfair. Everything is so unfair. Why me? And no one in the Guild will ever know. I won't even be remembered. I won't have a legacy. Nothing._ He steeled himself, and then thought, _I can't let selfishness stop me now_.

Dakova was saying something else, but Akkarin barely heard him. The only thing that was important was that he wasn't shielding. Akkarin slipped his hand up his sleeve, and stabbed Dakova in the heart with the shattered glass, grateful for his human biology healing lessons.

And then there was light everywhere, and all consciousness ceased.

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	6. Epilogue

Epilogue

**Lorlen:**

Lorlen walked briskly across the gardens whilst simultaneously reading a letter from the High Lord in the dawn light. He sighed. Balkan was so demanding! Frowning, Lorlen wondered how he would ever be able to accomplish the High Lord's goals.

Reading the arduous handwritten text, Lorlen let his mind drift to the Guild's amusing gossip that he had picked up from the Night Room.

Sonea and Dorrien had returned soon after only a few months in Elyne and had married a few weeks after their return to Imardin. The reason for this had been unclear at first, until the Guild had found out about the baby.

Rothen had had no objections, but both his and Yilara's family had both disapproved. Yet whilst the matter lay behind the Guild walls there was nothing that they could do about it.

Life seemed to settle. Yet for some inexplicable reason, Lorlen felt depressed. Not only because of his strenuous workload, but for some rather different reason that lay at the corners of his mind like a half remembered dream. He sighed. Not only was the High Lord demanding that he send invitations to every alumni and magician's family in the Allied lands (inviting them to the end of year party) by the end of _next week_; but he was depressed by something that he couldn't even remember. _Wonderful_.

Setting his feet to a regular, consistent pace, he left his mind to wonder about how in all of Kyralia he would be able to send out all of the invitations, and how they would possibly fit everyone inside the Guild without making them all feel like sardines.

_Looks like my little family's back to normal_, thought Lorlen, rolling his eyes. Then he paused, and corrected himself. Our _little family_.

…

**Akkarin:**

Akkarin watched the Guild from the safety of the trees. He wasn't entirely sure why he was here; the last thing he remembered was being consumed by raw magic. However, here he was, although he didn't plan on staying for long. The sunlight hit his transparent body, and he lifted his fingers in amazement. _Well, I certainly didn't imagine that _this_ was what would happen next_, he mused silently.

Then he heard footsteps. Someone was coming.

Shrinking back into the thick undergrowth, he saw Lorlen walking past him. _Lorlen? Lorlen!_ was all that his confused mind was able to assess from the situation. _Blue robes? Administrator?_ Then he smiled when he realised that his friend was poring over a letter. _Ha! Studying as usual._

The smile vanished as he realised that this was the last time that he would see him. _Well, all good things must come to an end, then_.

"_Goodbye, my friend_," he said, and Lorlen heard it as the twittering of early birds and the rustle of a waking wind. Then Akkarin stepped out and walked into the rising sun, and Lorlen shut his eyes, and let a breeze rush over him, feeling his heart lighten a little.

_Okay, Akkarin's ghost visiting Lorlen was definitely very cheesy, but I wanted them to have a chance to say goodbye (even thought Lorlen was blissfully unaware of the whole event!). Umm. I know that this was quite short, but it was just a little thing that I was working on. If I ever write anything else, it will probably be a bit longer. (I was quite tired when I wrote this chapter, so there are probably millions of mistakes scattered throughout :P)_

_ Anyways, thanks for sticking around to read this, and 'Review! You know you want to… Press the button! It's not hard!' (I am getting very tired of putting that at the end of every chapter, but I may as well stick with tradition at this point.)  
_

–_Halfcarrot_


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